Hauling shaft and ropes
Hauling shaft
Price: £111.00 incl. VAT.
Weight: 1.80 Kgs or 4 lbs.
A hauling shaft is necessary to properly control the pulk on uneven and steep ground and the Snowsled shaft is specially designed to even out the stresses imposed on the system. However, it may be dangerous to use in areas such as pack-ice, when heavy pulk loads may be difficult to control, and where ropes are a safer option.
The innovative Snowsled hauling shaft system 
- is unrestricted in the vertical plane,
- maintains maximum stability horizontally
- allows significant twist, and,
- can be packed easily within the pulk for shipping and storage
- plastic components are either UHMW polyethylene or acetal, rated to below -40C.
- the black acetal cross-bar brackets allow the cross- and side-tubes to twist with respect to one another.
A packet of small spares components is available in case of loss.
Fitting: Components and fitting instructions (pdf)
Snowsled hauling shaft connections only fit Snowsled harnesses. However, we may be able to accommodate other manufacturer’s harness designs – please ask.
Ropes
Price:
£54.00 incl. VAT (incl. 3 carabiners)
£28.20 incl. VAT (excl. carabiners)
Rope hauling loops (Option 2 – see below, for Expedition pulk) £10.00 incl. VAT
Weight:
with carabiners 340 grms (12 oz)
without carabiners 228 grms (8 oz)
Rope hauling is useful when travel is mainly over fairly flat areas. Our hauling ropes are 8 mm red braided polypropylene (which floats), and include a heavy duty 10 mm shock absorber loop. The whole assembly allows about 2.5 m between hauler and pulk.
Ropes are attached to the hauling harness waistbelt rings by carabiners (optional purchase), and it may also be convenient to put a carabiner into the system between the shock cord loop and where the hauler’s end is attached, making it easy to quickly unhitch from the system.
For the Trail shell, ropes go through holes on the top flange towards the front, and which are always drilled as standard.
For Expedition shells, the best position for hauling is lower down, and therefore holes will only be drilled if hauling rope or a shaft is ordered.
For rope hauling, there are two options, shown. 
For short journeys, or lighter loads, Option 1 can be used, with the rope being knotted behind a 10 mm hole. 
Option 2 will be better for multi-day journeys with heavy loads, and uses the same holes as for the hauling shaft. Option 2 will also be waterproof.